


The Darkness Within

by PotatoesOfWorldlyDesire



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Riverdale (TV 2017) RPF
Genre: Betty - Freeform, Cheesy, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy, Love, Riverdale, Romance, bughead - Freeform, jughead - Freeform, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-13 00:48:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14738964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotatoesOfWorldlyDesire/pseuds/PotatoesOfWorldlyDesire
Summary: That one scene from 2x22. You know, the one that made all the Bughead shippers hearts stop, before exploding? Yeah, this is that scene. Enjoy.





	The Darkness Within

Jughead looked at Betty, nestled on the floor with a baby in her arms. She looked adorable, but he saw something deeper behind her eyes. 

'Jug.' His name left her lips as she bounced the twin on her knee. His grip tightened gently on the one he held. Betty hesitated as he frowned. 'Do you think evil can be passed on?'

She put the baby down and looked at it sadly, her shoulders slumping. He sighed.

'Betty.'

Gingerly (his wounds hadn't quite healed yet and everything still hurt pretty badly) he placed the baby beside its sister. Betty didn't look at him as she carried on, 

'My great-grandfather had it. My grandfather, my father, they were all... Murderers, Jug.' Her breath was shaky and he could see the tension in her shoulders as her hands lay helplessly on her lap. 

'It's just circumstance.' His hands tickled at the younger Cooper's feet and the baby gurgled slightly.

'Is it?' She fixed him with a questioning look. His blue eyes met hers evenly. She looked away and held the other twin's hand as she continued, 'Or is it possible that this baby is gonna grow up to be a monster, like my father? ...Or like me?' 

An outside observer might have looked at the way Betty was observing the baby and been scared. If you didn't know Betty, the gaze was cold and distant. Jughead knew better, though. She was scared. She'd always felt the darkness inside of her, and there was her father, to confirm all her worst fears. 

Jughead didn't hesitate to move closer to her. 

'That's easy.' His gaze was harsh, but full of love as his eyes sought out hers, which still studied the baby. 'No.' 

Betty's face crumpled into the beginnings of a sob as she tried to hold back the tears. Jughead's heart twisted. Why doesn't she believe it? 'That baby is not evil, and neither are you.'

'But what if it's my... My destiny? My birthright?' Betty's hand moved to swipe a tear away from her eyes as she let the rant go, let her fear fuel her words as they started to run into each other. 'Something I'll never be able to control, or understand? -'

She would have continued on for hours if Jughead hadn't stopped her. 

'Hey. Look at me.' His gaze was still hard as she finally looked back at him. Her eyes were distant, but he knew she was uncomfortably close to breaking. 'I know you.' 

Betty let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. He moved closer to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. He was relieved when she didn't swipe it away- he always was, despite how long they'd been together. 'You're a good person, Betty.' Her eyes were now focused on him, tears glistening and threatening to spill. 'You might have some darkness, just like me, but you're not evil.' His eyes searched hers now, making sure she understood and felt his words. Jughead couldn't stand to see the girl he loved- Betty- so beaten-down and close to breaking. If she did, he would hold her for a thousand years. Longer. God, he loved her so much, why was she the only one who couldn't see how great she was?

A tear coursed down her cheek and he hated himself for not being with her while she tracked her father. For not seeing that something was up. She was probably the least-evil thing in Riverdale. 'Do you believe that? Do you believe me?'

It was a good question. Betty's eyes closed for a moment and his heart stopped. What would he do if she said no? How could he make her believe him? His hand reached out and caressed her cheek gently as he waited for a response. 

Eventually she nodded, and his body flooded with relief. He let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. 

'I love you, Jug.' She leaned forward so quickly to hug him he winced slightly- bruised ribs, and all- but wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He kissed the back of her neck as she settled back into him and she kissed his cheek. He looked at her one last time and smiled.

'I love you too, Betty.'

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed this! This scene inspired me sooooo much- plus it made it waaayyyy easier to imagine Parent!Bughead, so hopefully that will be a thing in my fics pretty soon *wink wink, nudge nudge, know-whaddi-mean?* 
> 
> Anyways, I love your feedback, so please let me know if you enjoyed this, if you'd like to see more/what you'd like to see me do with this couple. I'm taking any prompts you want.


End file.
